Astarael Returns
by Sammy-Jo
Summary: Sequel to Abhorsen, contains spoilers from Abhorsen, Lirael and her companions set out on an adventure. The danger is not yet over. What about Astarael? Chlorr? Kibeth? read to find out ;)
1. Meeting with Kibeth

Hey ppl! This fic is my own sequel to Abhorsen. It continues right after the last sentence in the book, which is this:  
  
Then she wandered off, following a zigzag path along the border between Life and Death, her tail wagging so hard, the tip of it beat the river into a froth behind her.  
  
Now, on with the story!  
  
-Ancelstirre-  
  
Lirael slowly looked around through half-lidded eyes. Everything was blurred, and she thought something was wrong with her vision till she realized there was tears in her eyes. Then it all came back to her. Binding Orannis. Yrael's rescue. And last of all, the one that hurt the most, losing the Disreputable Dog, otherwise known as one of the Seven, Kibeth. Tears burned in Lirael's eyes as she remembered, wanting to sob, but not wanting anyone to hear her. She had loved the dog. She had never really admitted it before, always showing her affections in other ways. A hand came to rest on her shoulder, softly, but it still startled her. She looked up into the face of the Abhorsen. Sabriel. Her half-sister. Lirael stopped crying. She had to be strong. She was after all, the Abhorsen-in-waiting.  
  
"I know what it feels like to suffer such a loss," whispered Sabriel so softly that none but Lirael heard.  
  
"I must go to the Dog," Lirael suddenly rasped, startling those around her. "I must get her. She is in Death, but she cannot die. I will bring her with me and we can live together forever. I must get her!" With that, Lirael felt for the border between Life and Death, knowing she was being foolish and somewhat childish.  
  
"No!" Sabriel said quickly. "It is too dangerous after Orannis has just been bound. Kibeth can look after herself. She has done so since The Beginning. You know that just as well as I do. Kibeth would not want you to put yourself in more danger.  
  
It hurt Lirael for Sabriel to call her companion, her best friend of more than five years Kibeth, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she suddenly lunged forward, surprising everybody, and her body became ice.  
  
Sabriel followed her, but at a distance. Lirael did not notice.  
  
-Death-  
  
Lirael felt the current of the water trying to pull her under. She started to force her will against the river, then decided against it. She knew she was doing the stupidest thing she had ever done in her life, but she laid in the river. She had embarrassed herself in front of her friends and enemies. Now Lirael had lost the Dog. The river gladly pulled her under and she started towards the First Gate.  
  
Sabriel was about to jump forward and grab her when suddenly a dark shape appeared. It had red flames for eyes and huge teeth with flames running down them. The shape was a dark shadow, faintly outlined in silver, resembling a.dog. Sabriel started to draw Saraneth until she realized who it was. She stood in the river, quietly observing the course of events.  
  
"Mistress!" shouted Kibeth, but Lirael only faintly heard her under the roar of the rushing river. "Mistress, what have you done?" the Dog sounded angry, and Lirael was taken by surprise. She had expected some other emotion. When she realized that the emotion she had wanted was pity, Lirael felt ashamed of herself. The Dog roughly dragged her out of the river. She was very upset. She bit Lirael like she had many times before when Lirael had contemplated suicide, but this time harder. "Mistress! You are the Abhorsen-in-waiting! You have a responsibility. I am ashamed to even think that you would abandon that responsibility, just for me. I came to you because you needed me, needed a friend. I helped you through all the hard times, and remained your loyal friend and companion. I helped you through all the gates of death, guiding you the whole way. Is this how you repay me? Are you saying I helped you in vain?"  
  
Lirael looked up, expecting to see a very angry dog, but was surprised when she saw the Dog was crying. Lirael had never seen that happen before and was afraid and ashamed of herself at the same time. Slowly, the flaming tears because wet, and the Dog resumed her shape.  
  
"I am sorry Mistress," the Dog half-whispered. "I was very angry. Will you forgive me?" She came over and solemnly licked the stub that was Lirael's handless arm. Lirael did not realize she had been in pain until the pain suddenly subsided and the bleeding stopped. The bruises were gone.  
  
"Oh, Dog!" Lirael sobbed. She ran over and wrapped her arms around the Dog's neck, literally flinging herself on her. Her sobbing became silent weeping. "You had right to be mad at me," she said in a rasping whisper. "You did not help me in vain and I am eternally grateful for that. I now realize that we must part. Will I ever see you again?"  
  
"I do not know," said Kibeth, "if we will meet again in Life, or in Death, or perhaps we will meet in some other time or world not yet known to us. I do know that we will meet again, though. You will never be forgotten, Lirael, Abhorsen-in-waiting, Daughter of the Clayr. You have found the place where you belong, and your family. Remember me." Kibeth slowly resumed her Free Magic shape, with Charter marks also in her build. She started fading away.  
  
"You will never be forgotten, Disreputable Dog, Kibeth!" Lirael shouted. "I will remember you always, and I look forward to our next meeting, whenever that may be." Kibeth had given Lirael the strength she had needed to move on. Confident once again, ready to take on Life and live it to the fullest, she emerged back in to her own body, shaking off the icicles. Sabriel smiled at her, and Lirael knew that she knew the events of what had just happened.  
  
-Ancelstirre-  
  
Lirael felt something soft brush against her leg. She looked down and saw Mogget, or Yrael, as he had revealed himself to be. The Eighth of the Nine who had begun it all. He was a cat, Lirael realized, but he had no collar. Mogget was unbound, free from his long years of servitude. A startling thought came to Lirael as she realized she had enjoyed Mogget's companionship, sardonic as the cat may have been. Suddenly, the cat jumped up on her shoulder, startling her.  
  
"Just because I helped you here does not mean that I will ever help you again, nor do I want to. I am free from the servitude of the Abhorsens. Oh, how I waited so long for this moment! I am finally free, free to do whatever, I want. The secrets I could reveal to you. If I wanted to that is." the white cat stretched, jumped down, and then winked at Lirael.  
  
"What is it?" Asked Lirael slowly, trying not to show too much interest. She didn't want to provoke him. She knew he still had something up his sleeve, though. Well, as far as cats could go with sleeves that is.  
  
"Oh, nothing," yawned Mogget. "Just that, if you think Orannis was bad, just wait till you see some of my old friends."  
  
"What?" asked Lirael, startled. Mogget had spoke with such venom that she was suddenly afraid.  
  
"Hmmmm..let's just say it's best not to get on my bad side," purred Mogget softly. "If you know what's good for you."  
  
"Is that a threat?" demanded Lirael. But that cat had already gone to sleep. Lirael decided not to tell anybody what the cat had said.  
  
"We might as well all sleep here," groaned Touchstone. "We all can hardly move, and we need our sleep. Each of us has had an awakening, even if you do not know it."  
  
"The Seven are the bells of the necromancer, or the Abhorsen," Lirael heard Ellimere mumble in her sleep. "We bound Orannis, the Ninth, and freed Yrael, the Eighth. Kibeth was one of the two who did not put herself into the charter. But what about Astarael? I fear she will rise again. Her time has come for destruction."  
  
Lirael, startled, looked over at Ellimere. The Princess's eyes were rolled into the back of her head during this.vision.When Lirael looked again, the Princess was sound asleep. Lirael shrugged it off, figuring it to be just a bad dream that Ellimere was having. As she went to sleep though, she couldn't help hearing Ellimere's words over and over again. She then fell into a restless sleep. 


	2. The Eighth Bell

Hey all! Here's the second chapter, hope ya like it! R/R, flame if ya want, but constructive criticism is welcome. Should I make Ellimere have a special past? She never seemed to play that big of a part in the books, so maybe I could give her a special role. Hmmmm………..

-Ancelstirre-

Lirael woke with a yelp of pain, quickly smothered by a small white paw. Mogget had dug his claws into Lirael's back, jerking her awake.

"Quiet!" Mogget hissed, with mild amusement at the pain he had caused. "Do you want to wake up everybody else?"

Lirael was very nervous now. She found herself being very jumpy around Mogget, now that he was unbound. "What do you want?" she whispered exasperatedly.

"I'm not going to tell you if you speak to me like that," Mogget spoke slyly. "Ask me nicely."

"I will not!" hissed Lirael indignantly.

"Okay then, just don't say I didn't warn you." Mogget stalked off, despite Lirael's protests.

Lirael shrugged it off and tried not to think of it. She looked down at her hand as a glint of gold caught her eye. Where there had once been just a stump, there was a golden hand, made with powerful Charter Magic. She knew at once that Sam had made it for her. Curiously she examined it, some of the marks familiar to her, but most she did not recognize. She could feel that it had many magical powers that would only be awoken when the time had come for her to use them. Making a mental note to thank Sam for it, she drifted off into sleep, entirely forgetting about Mogget.

Yrael contemplated what his next plan would be.

"If she even says one thing against me, I will tell my sister to deal with her," Yrael thought to himself. "But what good would that do?" another voice inside his head asked. "I'd only annoy her, and what if she did not oblige? I would be bound again, though not to the Abhorsens, but to my sister. I would be on the brink of Life and Death, not having any identity of myself. No, I will wait." With that the small cat jumped in to the river and caught some fish for his breakfast.

He looked down into the river, searching for some more food, when suddenly the face of Kibeth appeared in the reflection of the river. It was all Yrael could do not to jump back in surprise. 

"So, Yrael," the figure spoke. It had a voice like one calling down to someone at the bottom of a deep well. A well. Yrael suppressed a shudder. He did not want to think about wells right now. "I see they have freed you. They trust you too easily."

"Are you forgetting that I saved you all?" asked Yrael slyly. 

"Of course not," the dog sighed, "I will be forever grateful to you."

"Then stop bothering me! How dare you scare all the fish away!" hissed Yrael.

Kibeth sighed and took a deep breath. This was going to take all her strength and willpower to talk to Yrael as if he were a friend. She remembered this same speech long ago, how she hated making it, but knowing it had to be done then, and now.

*****FLASHBACK*****

-The Beginning-

They had done it. The Seven had finally done it. Orannis was bound, and forever she would remain in the hemispheres. Or so they hoped. 

"The reign of Free Magic must end," the mystical voice of Ranna said with determination.

"I agree, it must be stopped," the strong, commanding voice of Saraneth boomed.

"We will create a new kind of magic, one that will bind the Free Magic and that will be endless and have no beginning or end," Mosrael's harsh voice sounded.

"Of course it will have a Beginning, which is now," trilled the talkative Dyrim, "Though in years to come, it may not seem to be so. This bound magic will have one source. It shall be called 'The Charter'." Made of many symbols, all intertwined with each other. There will be many, many lesser symbols, with Master marks that only the true Charter Mages can use."

"I will preserve our spirits in these seven bells," said Belgaer, the craftsman of the group. "We will forever be used to banish the Dead. In the wrong hands, though, we will be used to free the Dead from Death itself, causing great destruction."

"What about me?" Crackled a terrible voice, full of Free Magic. "Don't I get a bell named after me? After all, it was **_I_** who made Orannis stop, **_I_** who conned her in to coming here. What will you pay me with?"

"You have hindered more than you have helped, Yrael," boomed Mosrael. "If you would like a bell named after you, you must give of yourself to the Charter. You will still be who you are, but a piece of you will always be servant to the Charter."

Yrael gave up his innocent and pleading voice in an instant, bright green eyes flashing. "Never!" hissed Yrael. "I swear I will have my revenge on all of you! You will fear the name Yrael!"

Suddenly, Belgaer shifted and a giant ring could be seen behind his back. "A small invention of mine, Yrael," Belgaer said cunningly. "You won't like the results." With that, he threw the ring over Yrael's neck. Yrael advanced towards him, then stopped. Something was happening to him. He seemed to swell, then suddenly got smaller and smaller and shrunk in on himself. Soon the great Yrael was nothing but a small house cat with a red leather collar. The ring displayed great power, thus showing the expertise of Belgaer. 

"You are forever bound, a slave of whomever may find you," said Belgaer softly. "A Charter Mage who wields the bells will bind you to his or her will. Be grateful this binding did not cost you your life," he said forcefully, as Yrael looked ready to pounce.

**Years later, the first Abhorsen did find Yrael, and bound him to her will. But that's a completely different story, not to be told right now.**

Yrael dealt with, The Seven formed a diamond. They were ready for the ceremony, the one that would lead to the great Charter. 

"I am Ranna. I give of myself to the Charter." The sweet, soft sound of her voice faded away as Ranna became part of the endless flow of the Charter.

"I am Mosrael. I give of myself to the Charter." Mosrael then became part of the Charter, along with Ranna.

"I am Kibeth. I am a loyal servant of the Charter. I am a servant now, and I will always until The End." Kibeth did not join the Charter as the others had. They wanted her to, but could not break the diamond to protest.

Each of the Seven in turn gave him or herself to the Charter. All of them, that is, until the last one, called Astarael. 

"I am Astarael," her commanding voice boomed. I do not belong to the Charter, nor am I an enemy of it. I stand by my brother, Yrael."

The Ceremony was over. Only Kibeth and Astarael remained, or what was left of them after they gave most of themselves to the Charter. 

The two stared at each other for the longest time. Finally, Kibeth turned and left without a word. 

They never saw each other again until that day when Lirael and Sam walked the depths of the well. But that would not happen for many years to come.

*****PRESENT*****

-Ancelstirre-

As Kibeth looked up from the river, she realized that Yrael had had the same flashback. He looked at her expectantly. She was surprised; he had never stared at her that way before, never given her more than a passing glance or a quick glare.

"Well," Kibeth sharply inhaled. "It's time. Do you want to be bound to the Charter like the rest of us? Or do you still swear to be an enemy of the Charter?"

Yrael seemed to be having a struggle with his inner self. Kibeth knew this, though she could not read the depths of those phosphorescent green eyes. Kibeth stood there for a long time, waiting. She could wait, though.

__

I have been a servant of good for so long, Yrael thought to himself, while another part of him thought that he had not been a _servant_, but a slave, _that I have become a softie. Is that such a bad thing, though?_ another part of him said._ If I have a bell of my own, the name Yrael will forever be remembered, just as I told Kibeth and the others in The Beginning. People will respect me and will fear my name. But_, another voice in his head said, _whatever happened to ultimate destruction of the Abhorsens? Don't you want revenge on them for keeping you as a slave? _All in all, the good points outweighed the bad. Yrael had come to his decision.

"I will. I will give of myself to the Charter. Being a servant of the Abhorsens for all these years has not been in vain. I understand the flow of marks now. I give a piece of myself to the Charter, and will be a loyal servant to it." Yrael said this in all seriousness, and Kibeth could see this.

"So let it be," whispered Kibeth. 

When Lirael and Sabriel woke up, they would find an eighth bell on their bandoliers. If they dared to look in _The Book of the Dead_, they would find a new passage. True, the passages in the book were always changing, but there was something new now. A new bell. Here is what was written:

__

The Eighth bell, Yrael, came into being after the second binding of Orannis. Yrael is swung in a waving, rolling motion above the head, and then below the waist. It grants swiftness of movement to the wielder, while making all around the wielder slower. It also grants the power to hide from the Dead, for a short while. Beware, in the inexperienced hand, the wielder will banish themselves beyond the Eighth Gate, where they will forever remain gazing at the stars, until it is their time to pass beyond the Ninth Gate. 

Mogget looked down, expecting to see the image of the Dog, but the apparition was gone. Mogget shuddered, but knew he had not been dreaming. He felt that part of himself that used to be Free Magic that was now servant to the Charter. He briefly wondered if he would regret his decision, then decided against thinking about it. 

"The time will come," Mogget muttered to himself, "the time will come."

So….did ya like it? I hope ya did! lol R/R so I can decide whether to continue this or not. Flame all ya want, I wanna know if you hate it. If you don't like it, I have another idea that involves what some ppl have done with the HP fics, rewriting the stories almost, to fit what the author wanted to happen. I'll do that one anyways even if you ppl do like this one! Remember to tell me if you want ellimere to have a special past…lol ttyl!

****

Sammy-Jo


	3. Trials and Tribulations

Hey ppl! Ok, I updated! Hope ya like it, but flame all you want. Oh and, the reason I left Nick out is because I don't like him lol. But there will be someone else ;). 

Right now, I'm reading the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, I've only read the first book but already started a ficcie. My friend Kasey and I are writing two different stories, but we are helping each other write them, and they are in conjunction with each other. Nonetheless, I will try to continue this fic, as long as I get reviews.

Ok here is:

~*~Chapter 3~*~

Trials and Tribulations

Lirael woke up only a few hours later, angry to see that everyone else was awake, but no one had bothered to wake her. Sam saw she was awake and came over to her.

"The danger is not over yet," Sam said softly, face downcast, "I fear the worst is yet to come."

"The worst!" Lirael was shocked.

"Yes. You see, there is more to the binding story than just Orannis. Long ago, when the Nine created the Charter, it was not just Orannis and Yrael that turned from it. Astarael was right along with them, as she is Yrael's sister."

Lirael gasped at this news.

"Yes. We just narrowly escaped her in the cave, thanks to the Dog," Sam gulped, then suddenly looked up, determination on his face. "But I have faith in Mother, and in you…Aunt Lirael. I know you will do well on your quest."

"Y…you mean, you are not coming with us?"

Sam sadly shook his head no. 

"We will be splitting up. My parents must restore order to the kingdom. Ellimere and I must go with them. I'm afraid you will have to be on your own. It is the duty of each Abhorsen-in-Waiting to complete a quest of some kind on their own." Sam suddenly looked Lirael in the eyes. "I…I'll miss you…not that we'll never see each other again," he said hurriedly. "I just want to wish you luck."

Lirael was torn apart inside at this news, but she knew she must stay strong on the outside, for her nephew, for everyone. _And for the Dog_, she thought to herself. She wanted to say something, anything to her nephew, but she spoke the first thing that came to her mind.

"The….the hand, Sam….I….thanks." She looked down when she realized she was crying.

"No need. You deserve it. You saved everyone and everything. We could not have done it without you. We may not be standing here if not for you, Aunt Lirael. Now, I must go. Fare thee well, and may the Charter be with you."

"And with you, Sameth," whispered Lirael.

The two hugged, tears in both their eyes alike, and parted.

Lirael then looked towards the two Clayr.

"There is no need to say goodbye," Ryelle said.

"We will meet again," finished Sanar.

With that, the twin Clayr left without even a backward glance.

"I hope to get to know you better soon, my sister," Sabriel hugged her in a warm embrace and kissed her on the cheek. "We will battle the Dead alongside each other, as my father did with his aunt. Good-bye, my half-sister."

"Likewise," Touchstone chimed in. "It is not every day you find out that you have a sister-in-law." He smiled. "Until we meet again."

Lirael watched, half in a trance, as the Paperwings flew out of sight. She was jerked back to reality by a pair of sharp claws digging their way into her ankle.

"OW!" Shouted Lirael. "AND JUST WHO…"

She looked down to see a small white cat without a collar, looking very pleased with himself.

"Did you see the new passage in the Book of the Dead?" Mogget purred.

"The passages are always changing," responded Lirael, still irritated. "What are you talking abou….Hey!" she had found the eighth bell. Eyeing Mogget suspiciously, she pulled the book out of her pack, eyes on him all the time. Quickly, she read the passage. Lirael stood up, snapped the book shut, and stared at Mogget, her expression impossible to read. 

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to say something?" Mogget's eyes flashed with anger and hurt, obviously taking her silence for disinterest. 

"I'm not saying anything. You just want to boost up your self-esteem. You're so egotistical, Mogget."

"Hmph! Well….when are we leaving?"  
  
"We?" Lirael raised her eyebrows.

"Well….you didn't think I'd let someone as stupid as you go alone, did you? I mean, all Abhorsens are dumb, why should you be any different?"

Lirael just smiled. She was glad for the companionship, even if her comrade had to be the sardonic cat.

Mogget jumped up on her shoulder. 

"Well, get going, don't just stand there! What are you waiting for, roots to grow?"

Lirael just sighed and started towards the Wall. The Guards let her through as soon as they saw who it was. They even offered her supplies, despite Lirael's cordial refusals. When she finally arrived in the Old Kingdom, she had at least two weeks supply of food, perhaps more, a buckler, a pocketknife, and a small bag of money. 

"Why did you have to be so polite about it?" Mogget hissed. "We could have received some useful items from those mindless fools."

Lirael was about to tell the cat that the Guards were not fools, but decided against saying anything. She walked along, lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly she stopped, startling Mogget.

"What was that you said about Chlorr of the Mask, again?" she asked in a nonchalant voice.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Mogget asked innocently. A little _too_ innocently.

"When we were standing back with the Guard, ready to battle with Chlorr, you said something like: 'She was always a fool, even when she was an A…alive.' Tell me please, what does that mean?"

Mogget sighed resignedly. "I suppose I must tell you. After all, it may be important information for your quest." Mogget launched into a story.

"A long time ago, by your reckoning at least, perhaps about 200 years, a foolish, giddy girl named Chlorr was Abhorsen-in-Waiting. I most definitely did not want to help such a numskull as her, but as I was a _slave_, it was my duty to train her. I always knew she was wrong from the start, but surprisingly, she had much potential. She was an excellent Charter Mage, much like yourself, and she showed great interest and was willing to take on the task of becoming Abhorsen. Chlorr excelled in everything she did, but little did I know, it was a cover-up of who she truly was." Mogget's fur bristled. He did not like admitting that he did not know something. 

"As it happens, during the time, a rumor was going around about a masked woman that rode a white horse and was roaming the lands, bringing the Dead back into life. It was said that she wore a long sword at her side, and surprisingly, it had Charter marks on the blade. She would ride into small villages and kill as many as she could, making Dead Hands out of the now unoccupied bodies. The peasants lived in fear each night that that would be the night 'The Bronze Rider', as they came to call her, would raid their village. I, being foolish, saw no connection between this masked rider and Chlorr. I assumed Chlorr was who she said she was, not knowing she could raise and banish the Dead before she came to the House. Nonetheless, the job of Abhorsen gave her the disguise and status that she needed to become the ultimate Free Magic sorceress. People trusted her, and they let her stay with them in their villages. She claimed she was protecting them from the Dead when really she was learning all their secrets. Their villages would be raided within the next week, and still nobody would ever connect the Abhorsen with these events.

"The story goes on, of the many terrible, but great things that she did, but this piece of information I give you will be most important to your quest to find my sister Astarael: One night, about 50 years ago, a man that went by the name of Hedge found Chlorr's…."

"You reveal too much about me, Yrael," a cold, haunting voice taunted. "It must not continue any longer. Therefore, I put this binding spell on you, now. You will never be able to speak to anyone of what happened that one night not so long ago. And so, I bind you." With that, Chlorr grinned maliciously and raised her hand to cast the spell, but Mogget was not about to go down without a fight, having been bound so long to the Abhorsens. He hissed and jumped at her outstretched hand and clawed her arm, drawing blood. She drew it back with a cat-like hiss and loudly cursed. Mogget reared back to come at her again, but he was too late. The spell was cast. He was once more bound, though a different kind of binding, it nonetheless burned in his mind, infuriating him. Mentally, he cursed himself for being so foolish, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"You are getting off easy this time," cackled Chlorr, now looking towards Lirael, "but our next meeting will be our last!" With that, Chlorr just…disappeared. No smoke, no special effects. One minute she was there, the next she was not. 

Lirael and Mogget stared at each other.

So ppl, how do ya like it? Should I continue? Flame all ya want. I really don't know where this is going, but I usually don't anyways. Hehe…there will be new companions, possibly some romance, and maybe meeting up with old friends.

The ficcie that I am writing for the Wheel of Time series is my first story that I am putting myself and a friend in, and from what I've written so far, it is the best of all that I've written. I think I will be putting it up soon, so come back and R/R, please! Also R/R this one too lol! Ok, ttyl!

****

Sammy-Jo 


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